When Apple first debuted the Smart Cover, we knew we’d see third-party copy cats, but who knew that the first one to be available for order would be so beautiful: Minot’s wooden iPad 2 cover.
Made from a thin sheet of cherry wood incised with grooves, Minot’s wooden cover rolls instead of folds. Like the official Smart Cover, it can prop up your iPad 2 for movie watching or for typing. Since it doesn’t fold, though, Minot’s wooden cover doesn’t look quite as good as the Smart Cover for reading as the Smart Cover can be folded into an excellent one-handed reading grip.
Other than that, this looks gorgeous, especially for the price: €50, or almost the exact same price as the leather smart cover in the United States.
Much as I love the looks of Minot’s cover, though, I’d wait on some reviews: Apple did some cool things to make sure that the magnets on the Smart Cover aligned perfectly, juggling magnetic polarity so there’s almost no way to attach a Smart Cover incorrectly. I’m concerned the third-party accessory makers will ignore this attention to detail, and since Minot’s the first out of the gate, they’ll have to prove that their cover is equal to Apple’s before I lay out my €50 for one.
[via Gadget Lab]
